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Level surface

Aqua360

Member
Joined
15 Feb 2016
Messages
2,176
Location
UK
Hi guys,

I recently purchased a superfish cabinet for my fake 45p, but having built it tonight, the screws at the top are slightly elevated, with plastic toppers supplied to cover them.

Question is, how safe is this for a tank to sit on? Pic attached, I'm assuming it rules out even using a mat...
PXL_20220318_201853158.jpg

PXL_20220318_201827092.jpg
 
Yeah, I wouldn't be happy using it unless the tank was designed for it. Some tanks have the base off the cabinet and this wouldn't be a problem.
 
That seems like a really bad design. Having said that you should be able to get the edges of the plastic covers flush with the surface if the screws are fully driven in, they look as if they are hanging in mid air which is obviously not right.

A good quality foam mat would help, but those caps definitely shouldn't be as up in the air as they are in the photo. If the screws have a countersunk head they should 100% be flush with the top surface before adding the plastic caps - if they are not going in that far then something is wrong. Can you show a pic of the screw heads without the plastic?
 
Here's a pic of the screws, to get them in further I'd need to crack out the drill, but this would give me the fear in case I crack the material, what do you guys think...
PXL_20220318_201235974.jpg
PXL_20220318_201212154.jpg
 
That's not too bad. Maybe the plastic caps are not good if they hang up in the air like that.

If it was me I would forget about the plastic caps and just buy a decent quality mat and put it over the bare screws. The screw looks like it is up by half a millimetre which would be nowhere near a princess and the pea situation given a half decent mat(tress).
 
I wouldnt be able to rest comfortably at night with the screws like that, but thats my personal opinion. I would get them down flush even if it takes a bit of force. A small chip in the MDF or whatever the stand is made of is not going to affect the structure of the stand, but load on small points on glass is no bueno
 
I wouldnt be able to rest comfortably at night with the screws like that, but thats my personal opinion. I would get them down flush even if it takes a bit of force. A small chip in the MDF or whatever the stand is made of is not going to affect the structure of the stand, but load on small points on glass is no bueno
I agree, I wouldn't put a tank directly on the screws, but with an ADA or Chihiros style mat it would be no problem. They are designed to help during earthquakes after all, which would be more of a stress than a 0.5mm change in topography.
 
I have a mat I can put down, but I think I'll try to get the screws down further with a drill tomorrow if possible
 
Take screws out and use a hoover to clean out the holes as there may be something in them
Once you’ve done that if you’re using a power drill to tighten them don’t try to get them down in one go
Reverse the drill to loosen then go in again a little bit more - repeat until it’s flush

Make sure that the recess in the top board is actually deep enough for the screw to go flush - remove the top board and then drop a screw through the hole and see if it’s flush

Or as the others have stated use a decent mat underneath (yoga mat)


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I would drop the screwscompletely. Maybe unscrew the top, drill 12 holes for wooden dowels. Pop the dowels in and flip the top board upside down.
 
Just remove the screws one at a time and use a large drill bit or a proper countersink bit to enlarge the top of each hole so the screws head can sit below the surface.

Overtightening the screws without enlarging the countersink might either strip the thread or crush the surface.
 

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Just remove the screws one at a time and use a large drill bit or a proper countersink bit to enlarge the top of each hole so the screws head can sit below the surface.

Overtightening the screws without enlarging the countersink might either strip the thread or crush the surface.
This☝️

Both the fluval
Flex stand and a second stand I bought for my new tank had the same design. Simply drill enough space for the heads to sit into and your grand.
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the info above, I'll aim to enlarge the hole at the top so I can countersink.

It's for my fake 45p, which is straight glass bottom, no raised bottom or anything
 
It does look like the superfish stand which is designed for tanks with floating bottoms, hence why it doesn't normally matter. If the stands are for flat bottom tanks then they would have countersunk screw heads. I think juwel stands just come with a little sticker you put over the top of the screw hole, even though they have floating bottoms.
A nice mat under the tank will definitely sort things out for you if the screws are only protruding that far.
 
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